Far From Here
by dewdrop721
Summary: Dear Duncan...I'm sorry to have done this. I'm sorry that maybe I wasn't strong  enough. Maybe we weren't meant to be. Maybe we were just kidding ourselves. I know you'll hate me. I would too. Just know that no matter what...I miss you.  GxD DxC GxT CxT
1. From Where You Are

Courtney Lexington sat solemnly upon the suitcase on her bed. Filled to the point of her not being able to shut it, she had been forced to jump on it and try forcing it closed. It hadn't worked so far. Then again trying to force anything to change hadn't worked so far.

She'd tried her best to force her relationship from falling apart, but…it hadn't worked either. Sometimes it was like she was on a sinking ship. They had been trying for the longest to bail themselves out of the sinking boat, but the hole kept getting bigger and the only pail had a crack in it. Like trying to move a mountain of sand with a thimble, it was impossible and a waste of time. Like sand slipping through her fingers, she knew that what they had was slipping away faster and faster every day.

Sometimes it seemed like they were worth fighting for and other days she wondered why they even tried. It seemed that was happening more than ever now.

Courtney knew that the end would come soon. She had been in denial for a long time, but she had finally admitted it to herself. Maybe if she was a stronger person, she might have just ended it then and saved them the effort, but it seemed she wasn't as strong as she thought.

She remembered how she had heard the story about the red thread of fate. It was tied to your pinky and it connected you to the person you were fated to be with. Across continents, across seas, it never failed to lead you to them. Courtney knew it was just an old story, she didn't believe in such fairy tales…but though she claimed to be above such nonsense tales, she still felt like the day she broke up with him, she'd be cutting their thread. It was like grabbing a pair of scissors and just snipping the small thread. That would be the end of them.

Maybe she wouldn't even have to cut it. Maybe theirs was just slowly unraveling strand by strand, just waiting for the right moment to fall apart.

Either way, Courtney didn't think she would be able to stand it when whatever was going to happen, did happen. That was why she had packed her bags. That was why she had ignored her boyfriend for the last days. And that was why she had suddenly joined her best friend on her cross-country trip. She had also found a job that started in 3 months. It was in California. Far away from the town in Ontario she'd grown up in.

Today was her last day here before she and Bridgette left. After that she didn't know all the places that she would go. She just knew that she'd be gone and he'd still be here. It felt like she was leaving everything behind, but this is what she had been spending her whole life preparing for…right?

She just never imagined she'd be leaving him behind.

Bridgette was right though. Maybe she did need to live life a little before she got wrapped up in a new job and whole new place. Maybe she just wanted to forget the guilt and bad memories from her home. Either way, for some strange reason, the open road seemed so inviting and she seemed so tired of fighting. She'd held on her longest, but maybe it was time to let go.

Maybe. There were too many maybes lately. Too many what ifs and too many tears from bitter words that shouldn't have been said.

By the time tonight came, she would be gone.

As she looked at all her stuff that had been packed up, she sighed and thought about at everything she was leaving behind.

Her parents.

Her home.

Her friends.

Her cat, Shadow.

And her boyfriend.

She sighed and looked down t the watch on her wrist. Just an hour left. Picking up her bags and giving her room and everything in one last look around, she silently said her goodbyes.

She reached into her pocket and slowly pulled out a picture and kissed it. She set it on her pillow and left.

She wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

Maybe it was for the best.


	2. It's Too Late To Say Goodbye

Duncan Maggiano was angry. It wasn't something new or surprising. He and his girlfriend had just had another fight.

Something small had escalated to violent proportions as neither of them wanted to lose. Throwing vicious words back and forth, one of them had finally gone too far.

"_Maybe we shouldn't be together then!" Duncan's eyes widened as his brain finally processed the words he'd unthinkingly spat. He looked at his girlfriend who had frozen with a look on her face, as though he had just slapped her._

_Giving him the coldest glare she could muster, she spat out, "Maybe you're right then." The words themselves unsettled him worse than her anger could. She never conceded. She never held back her words, but now she was turning on her heel and running out of his apartment. _

_Maybe he could've tried to stop her, but she never looked back. _

Ever since that night four days ago, they hadn't spoken nor met. She never texted back. She never picked up his calls. She was careful to avoid him in every way.

That was why Duncan was angry. He was trying to at least fix the problem and she had decided to be a bitch and make it harder.

Sometimes he wondered how they'd ended up together. They could bring out the absolute worse in each other. And other times they were so deliriously happy he would've sworn that he was high.

Was it worth it every day to fight and bicker until those good times came back around? He wasn't certain. A long time ago he probably would have said yes immediately. Now however they were adults. They had to wonder about futures and bills and suddenly it had all gotten harder. As they took on another responsibility they had to stop and think about what would happen to them.

He knew for certain that her dreams of being a lawyer would take off if she just would make up her mind and choose a place to go in the upcoming months. He however had no exact idea what he wanted to do.

That was another problem they had. They were so different. She knew what she wanted her future to be. He was taking it day by day.

The futures they had didn't seem to be connected at all. Eventually they would have to choose what they were going to do and he had a feeling that it wouldn't end well.

He wondered if the end was near.

The truth was that he didn't know anything anymore. He had decided on his plan of action. He would go to see Courtney face to face and he would let the pieces fall as they may.

He felt unsettled by not knowing whether he was going to fix things or whether he was pushing their relationship a little closer to the edge.

As he threw open the door he decided to procrastinate just a little longer. He knew that whatever he was getting himself into was going to be messy.

He'd rather prolong the peace before he threw himself into the stormy waters that were currently their relationship.

Walking slowly through the streets he decided to go see his best friend Geoff. They'd been thick as thieves ever since they'd met. The blonde was a party animal and laid-back soul and he was usually up for anything cool.

Unfortunately his girlfriend Bridgette was leaving this summer. She'd had her trip planned for the longest and by the time next fall came, she'd be working on some team of biologists who were into the whole nature thing. It was a perfect job for the blonde surfer girl. She was always going on about saving the planet or recycling or some other green shit. The problem laid in the fact that Bridgette and Geoff were almost joined by the lips and she was now moving to California.

Her dream job.

The perfect beaches.

And millions of waves.

They would be apart for 2 and a half months until Geoff left to join his girl. That left him with two months with a long distance relationship and absolutely no physical contact with his girlfriend.

Duncan was pretty sure he wouldn't last a day.

By now Geoff would be going insane and crying and freaking out, and while Duncan was extremely disturbed by it all, he'd rather have to listen to him cry about his girl than go get his head torn off.

"DUDE! She's gone!" As Geoff through his arms around him and burst out crying, Duncan rethought his previous assumption that this wasn't going to be so bad.

"Geoff! You gotta calm down man! Get a grip." He shook his friend by the shoulder trying to bring the frantic party boy back to his senses.

"You're going to see her again, man. It's not like you'll never see her again. It's not goodbye forever. Just like 3 months."

The blonde boy began to breathe deeply and regain some sense of calm at his best bud's words.

"Thanks dude. I'm cool now; I just miss her a lot. I mean 2 months with no Bridgette? Bro this summer definitely won't be as awesome."

Duncan did have to agree with his friend. Knowing Geoff he'd probably go crazy without his girlfriend and her lips.

At least they had a good relationship though. Geoff and Bridgette were worrying about distance, not whether they were falling apart.

After getting his friend to act a less like an insane person, Duncan knew that he couldn't wait much longer. He and Courtney were going to have to talk sometime soon, because the way things had ended sounded like they were over.

It sounded like they were history.

There was something horrible about the fact that after all they had been through that one day they might just walk away and never speak again.

Duncan did have a heart, no matter how much he tried to deny it and Courtney had been his first love.

There was no way he was going to screw everything that badly.

If they were going to end, he at least wanted to know for certain. He didn't want to take a guess and end something like that.

As Duncan walked down the street, he could still remember all the things they had done together. He still remembered how in 5th grade he'd seen the moving trucks racing towards the new, fancy houses that had been erected in town. He remembered looking up at one of the expensive looking cars and seeing a pair of bored looking onyx eyes staring back.

As he walked pass the old ice cream shop, he remembered how he flicked ice cream on her nose and she flipped a whole bowl of whipped cream over his head. He spent hours trying to get the sticky, sweet topping out of his hair and trying to keep a scowl as he remembered her laughter, something bubbly and happy that made his heart beat a little faster and made him even more angry that he wasn't that mad at her.

He saw the park where, he'd pushed her on the swing after she fractured her ankle and couldn't do it for herself. She'd ranted and sputtered saying she didn't need anyone's charity and he'd told her to quit whining because she was getting annoying and to just enjoy the ride. She'd huffed and put her cute little nose in the air, but he still remembered the small smile that had graced her lips as she swung through the air.

As Duncan came up to her house, he realized just how long they'd been together. Whether they had been dating or just crazy, kids who liked to annoy each other on the daily basis.

He realized just what he could be losing and somewhere in his mind he hoped that today wouldn't end horribly.

He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

And he waited.

And he waited.

And _waited._

_AND DAMMTI!_

Duncan wasn't the most patient guy. Never had been. Never would be.

He realized that she might have been pissed at him, but really?

Ignoring him when he was coming to try and fix their relationship? After all the time she spent nagging him about acting like an adult and she was pretending he wasn't even there.

That was about the moment he finally lost his patience. Looking around the driveway he saw that her car was still there. Her parents weren't there. She'd told him not too long ago how they'd planned on leaving for some cruise and returning sometime this week.

Obviously she was here and she had decided to leave him standing outside looking like an idiot. Feeling the annoyance and anger building up, Duncan headed for the side of her house.

The rose trellis that greeted him wasn't new. White and made of sturdy wood, it had beautiful roses climbing up it. He had climbed it more than once to meet her late at night, unknown to others.

Other times she'd used it to sneak out much later than her parents would allow and to see him, despite the rules, caught up in the rush of young love.

Now as he climbed the rose trellis, Duncan could only think of how different this time was from others. He wasn't joyful or full of adrenaline of sneaking to see her.

And he wasn't certain like every other time they'd argued that he was leaving with her as his girlfriend.

Pulling himself onto the small ledge, he finally looked into her room and was shocked.

It was empty.

The lights were off and no one seemed home.

That was when the sinking feeling of something being wrong began to settle into his stomach.

Duncan picked at the windows and finally made his way as he had a million times before. This time was different.

There were no slender arms to wrap him in a hug, nor a nagging yet happy voice telling him he would break his neck if he wasn't careful.

Rushing down the stairs, he made his way to the kitchen and found the alarm. He entered the code that Courtney had revealed to him ages ago, secure in the fact that he would never burglarize her house and knowing it would be better if her parents didn't think he was breaking and entering.

As Duncan looked around, he realized that everything in the house seemed shut down,

No lights were on and the entire house was silent.

The niggling sensation that something was up again pricked at his mind. If Courtney wasn't here then where could she be?

Bridgette had left just that afternoon. There was no way Courtney could be hanging out with her.

And he knew that she couldn't possibly be out having a great time right now.

Duncan knew his girlfriend and it was highly unlikely that she'd be out socializing after such a huge argument. There was no way she'd be out living it up after her best friend had just left and she'd already been upset over their fight.

Duncan began to walk through the hose and notice how little things, little things that made up his girlfriend, were no longer there.

Courtney's cat, Shadow, wasn't on his usual perch on the sofa.

Courtney's violin, usually in the study was gone.

The usual calming violin music that could be heard as she practiced at this time of the afternoon was gone, replaced with a silence that screamed that Duncan was all alone.

As Duncan walked up the spiral staircase, he realized that he hadn't even gotten a good look at her room. He knew it like the back of his hand, but suddenly it seemed as if small traces of her were disappearing from the house.

If so, what did her room look like?

He received his answer as he opened he slightly ajar door and flicked on the lights.

Everything was gone.

Pictures and memories that had covered the walls and lined the shelves in her room were now gone. Her closet was empty, devoid of clothes but now containing boxes with labels on them.

He looked around but it only got worse.

Her million of books were now in boxes, probably alphabetized as she had always done. Her room was now bare of personal touches. Everything that made this room Courtney's was either packed away or gone.

Courtney was nowhere in sight. As he sat down upon the bed, he finally succumbed to the feeling of complete and utter confusion. Where was Courtney?

He wanted to call her, but so far every time he did, she refused to pick up.

He looked around trying to sort out his thoughts when he finally saw it.

It was a letter. A letter with Courtney's familiar neat handwriting stared up at him.

Before he even realized it, Duncan had reached down and grabbed it. Part of him knew he was going to regret looking down and reading what could possibly be the only explanation he would get.

The other part of him knew ignorance was bliss and that when he read the letter, he would lose that. As long as he stayed in the dark, part of him was safe from whatever was going on.

Read the letter. Don't read the letter. What to do?

Duncan was no coward; he steeled his nerves and began to read.

_Dear Duncan,_

_...I'm sorry to have done this. I'm sorry that maybe I wasn't strong enough. Maybe we weren't meant to be. Maybe we were just kidding ourselves. I know you'll hate me. I would too. Just know that no matter what...I miss you. I think you and I both know this is goodbye. I don't know for how long. And I don't know if I'll ever see you again. Just know I loved you…_

_ Goodbye,_

_ Courtney_

Duncan knew what she had done before he even really thought about it. Courtney was gone. She had run off.

She had left him behind. She had finally taken his advice and quit acting mature.

It him as soon as he stood. Courtney was gone and not coming back. Bridgette had left for the summer and wasn't coming back.

She had probably hitched a ride or found some other way, but Courtney had bolted and it was all too clear that she had no intention of returning.

He looked around her room and for the first time in a few days…..he wasn't angry. He wasn't anything.

He felt as if the pain he should have felt stabbing him in the heart was a million miles away. Somewhere far from here.

Unfortunately, so was his girlfriend.

Feeling calmer than anybody should have been in this situation, Duncan got up to give the room a final look over before he locked up and left.

He looked around at the room where he'd come to know Courtney Rinaldi so well.

He turned to step away and heard something crunch underneath his Converse. He looked down and was met with a picture from after they'd been dating for a few weeks.

Courtney's big smile matched his own perfectly as he held her up in the air. The wind blew her bangs in her eyes and her nose crinkled up just the right way showing all seven of the little freckles that sat upon it.

They used to be so happy. He took the memory of better times and carefully slid it into his pocket.

With nothing left to hinder him leaving, he flicked off the lights and went to lock up.

He didn't feel so welcome here anymore.

Those memories of nights spent around this house were distant ones; long gone after Courtney had run away.

"_Just know I loved you…"_

So much for goodbyes.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Last year was definitely not my year. I'm jinxed and this is about the second time I've dislocated/sprained/ bruised something and had to go get x-rays and crutches. The nurses now call me Calamity Jane. -_-

Anyway enough about me! I hope this chapter was good and hopefully I'll be able to start another one soon. I don't really have time to study and read through them that much considering I've got tons to do, so if anybody wants to beta this story then leave it in a review or PM me. Critique, review or do whatever you want to really. Except flame…cuz I mean that's not awesome at all.


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